Laminated powder puff



Aug. 29, 1967 J. E. CLEMENTS LAMINATED POWDER PUFF Filed Oct. 2 1964 INVENTOR John E C lerrzerzis ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,337,895 LAMINATED POWDER PUFF John E. Clements, Westhury, N.Y., assignor t0 Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 407,059 2 Claims. (Cl. 15-244) This invention relates to powder puffs and more particularly to renewably-surfaced powder puffs.

This invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the present invention; in this figure is shown one of the two external powdering surfaces. FIGURE 2 is a section taken along the line 22 of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing a circular segment removed from said puff. FIGURE 4 is a section view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing a system of tabs.

Presently, powder puffs for the application of powdered cosmetics such as face powder, rouge, bath powder and the like generally consist either of two powdering or active surfaces of a porous material or one active porous surface in conjunction with a smooth-textured surface, for example, silk, satin, etc. After repeated use, said powdering surfaces become soiled and continued application may deleteriously affect the complexion of the user inasmuch as the accumulated oils and greases built up on the .powdering surfaces are repeatedly being rubbed into the skin. As a result, the entire apparatus must be replaced. If the user, however, is forgetful or lax in replacing the old puff with a new one, the life-time of said soiled puff is extended for a period longer than is generally desired.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above and other disadvantages of present puffs. Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent from this specification and drawings.

These objects are realized by the present invention which provides a renewably-surfaced powder puff comprising a plurality of superimposed powdering surfaces disposed in substantially parallel layers secured together along their peripheral edges, wherein exposure of a fresh surface is accomplished by peeling the soiled external layer therefrom. The present invention provides a powder puff which is essentially renewable and hence accords an increase-in life-time as much as 6 to 8 times that of conventional powder puffs. Said increase is based on the fact that the renewable puff of the present invention consists of a parallel alignment of layers, wherein each layer provides an active powdering surface. Consequently, for a puff consisting of layers, the number of potential active surfaces is 6. Similarly, a 7 layered puff provides 8 active surfaces. In essence, one powder puff structure of the herein described invention may be considered as being six to eight individual powder puffs. The mechanism of the powder puff of the present invention may be described in the following manner. When the external powdering surface becomes soiled or inoperable, the user removes said soiled surface-layer by peeling it from the remaining puff structure and thereby exposes a fresh surface ready for use. This novel feature enables the user to avoid continual use of a soiled puff and eliminates the time and cost spent in obtaining a new one. Moreover, at the discretion of the user, a new powdering surface is made available by a facile physical manipulation.

The structure of the renewable powder puff of this invention is prepared by securing the layers together along their peripheral edges by a sealing process. Any sealing process well known in the art may be used, so that it provides an adhesion which is suflicient to maintain the layers under normal use, and still enables one to I 3,337,895 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 remove or peel the external layer without much difliculty. Further, said process should preferably provide a puff whose edges are soft and smooth and may therefore be utilized for powdering those surfaces generally more difficult to reach, for example, around the nose and mouth. Examples of suitable sealing processes are: high-frequency dielectric sealing, thermo-sealing, and sealing by adhesive.

A useful structural modification which provides a simple way of removing an external soiled layer from the body of the putt comp-rises a system of tabs which differentiates the individual layers and facilitates the peelin process. Moreover, since the tabs are made of the same material and are integral parts of each layer, it is best that they not be sealed but be readily separable so that they may conveniently distinguish each layer.

Still another useful structural modification which provides a simple way of removing an external soiled layer from the body of the puff comprises the removal crosssectionally of a circular segment from the sealed periphery of said puff which differentiates visibly the individual layers and facilitates the peeling process.

The layers which comprise the powder puff can be derived from a great number of materials. Most particularly preferred are those made from a flexible polyurethane foam; although, other suitable materials include any smooth-textured resilient plastic material capable of being patterned into layers which can be secured at their edges by a suitable sealing process. Examples of the latter type of material include: cellulose acetate, epoxy plastics, phenol-formaldehyde plastics, urea-formaldehyde plastics, polyethylene, polystyrene, silicones and vinyls. In addition, suitable non-plastic materials include foam rubber and flocked paper. Moreover, said layers may be made from cloth, however, a less economical sewing process is required for securing the edges of this type of powder puff.

When polyurethane foam is used for the fabrication of the herein described puff, the sealing process of preference is the high-frequency dielectric method. Furthermore, to furnish the active or outer surfaces of a puff made of polyurethane with a soft or fuzzy effect, the individual layers are treated by standard chemical procedures well known to those in the art.

The layers which constitute the powder puff of this invention may be of any desired shape or thickness. In general, the number of layers necessary for any type of puff, is dictated by the thickness of the individual layers and the specific application. For example, a compact powder puff should be substantially flat in order to fit snugly into the compact structure and hence, is limited to several layers. Most preferred is a compact powder puff wherein the number of layers is from about 3 to about 7. On the other hand, a bath powder puff can be of any general size and thickness, and therefore, may consist of a great number of layers. The center component or layer is preferably of greater thickness than the outer layers in order to allow satisfactory manipulation for the application of the cosmetic after the outer layers have been utilized and discarded.

A further modification of the invention consists of a powder puif as described above wherein said layers are of different color. The latter innovation provides a visually-satisfying effect as well as a means of distinguishing the superimposed layers.

As illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 4, the new renewably-surfaced powder puff comprises a plurality of superimposed powdering surfaces disposed in substantially parallel layers. The external active powdering surfaces 1 and 1' pertain to layers 3 and 3', whereas active surfaces 4, 4'; 6, 6'; and 8, 8' pertain to layers 5, 5; 7, 7' and 9 respectively. The central core or layer 9 is generally of greater thickness than outer layers 3, 3'; 5, 5'; and 7, 7' and in addition accords two active external layers 8 and 8 when freely exposed. Any suitable sealing process results in the formation of a puff whose edge 10 is smooth and soft to the skin and in addition, provides an adhesive bond 11 which is sufiicient to maintain the layers under normal use. Tabs 12, 12'; 13, 13", and 14, 14' provide a simple way of removing a soiled layer from the body of the puff and of distinguishing each layer. As shown in FIGURE 4 the tabs progressively extend outwardly a greater amount from the intermediate layers 7, 7' toward the outer layers 3, 3. Circular segment 15 is removed from the body of the puff visibly differentiating the individual layers.

In all the embodiments, use can active surfaces, of each of the layers of the powder puff. The embodiments which have been described and illustrated are given by way of example only and should not be interpreted as limiting the invention, many variations of which are possible without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A renewably-surfaced powder puff comprising a plurality of superimposed, smooth powdering surfaces disposed in parallel layers, means for selectively completely removing each layer to expose a fresh surface when an overlying layer is completely removed, said means inbe made of all of the cluding securing means attaching said layers together at' their peripheral edges, each layer including an exposed free portion adapted to act as finger grasping means, and the vfree portion of each layer being aligned with the free portion of the other layers, wherein said layers include a central layer, a pair of outer layers, and at least two intermediate layers, each tree portion on said outer layers and intermediate layers, including .a progressively extending outwardly a greater amount from the intermediate layers toward the outer layers.

2. A renewably-surfaced powder puff comprising a plurality of superimposed, smooth powdering surfaces disposed in parallel layers, means for selectively completely removing each layer to expose a fresh surface when an overlying layer is completely removed, said means including securing means attaching said layers together at their peripheral edges, each layer including an exposed free portion adapted to act as finger grasping means, and the free portion of each layer being aligned with the free portion of the other layers, wherein the free portions form a circular cross section of the powder puff to expose -a portion of each layer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,756,408 4/ 1930 Walker et a1 15-209 1,791,351 2/1931 Chase 15-209 2,159,227 5/ 1939 Reifiert et al. 15-209 2,878,153 3/ 1959 Hacklander. 3,055,035 9/ 1962 Susselman 15209 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,352,898 1/ 1964 France.

429,677 5/1935 Great Britain.

810,095 3/ 1959 Great Britain.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. DANIEL BLUM, Examiner.

tab, and the tabs 

1. A RENEWABLY-SURFACED POWDER PUFF COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SUPERIMPOSED, SMOOTH POWDERING SURFACES DISPOSED IN PARALLEL LAYERS, MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY COMPLETELY REMOVING EACH LAYER TO EXPOSE A FRESH SURFACE WHEN AN OVERLYING LAYER IS COMPLETELY REMOVED, SAID MEANS INCLUDING SECURING MEANS ATTACHING SAID LAYERS TOGETHER AT THEIR PERIPHERAL EDGES, EACH LAYER INCLUDING AN EXPOSED FREE PORTION ADAPTED TO ACT AS FINGER GRASPING MEANS, AND THE FREE PORTION OF EACH LAYER BEING ALIGNED WITH THE FREE PORTION OF THE OTHER LAYERS, WHEREIN SAID LAYERS INCLUDE A CENTRAL LAYER, A PAIR OF OUTER LAYERS, AND AT LEAST TWO INTERMEDIATE LAYERS, EACH FREE PORTION ON SAID OUTER LAYERS AND INTERMEDIATE LAYERS INCLUDING A TAB, AND THE TABS PROGRESSIVELY EXTENDING OUTWARDLY A GREATER AMOUNT FROM THE INTERMEDIATE LAYERS TOWARD THE OUTER LAYERS. 